Like all the Ralph Baer prototypes, TV Game Unit #1 was used as evidence in many patent infringement cases. Though transistors were available, Baer, who had received his bachelor’s in television engineering, choose to use the familiar and proven technology of vacuum tubes for this early test unit. TV Game Unit #1 was designed by Baer and built with the assistance of Bob Tremblay, a technician who worked with Baer at Saunders. Now that he was able to interact with the television, Baer could design increasingly sophisticated interfaces and programs. Called TVG#1 or TV Game Unit #1, this device, when used with an alignment generator, produced a dot on the television screen that could be manually controlled by the user.
In 1967, he created the first of several video game test units. In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games. TV Game Unit #1, 1967 Description From this assemblage of metal, wires and glass tubes, the future of video games would be built.
